When it comes to money, admittance often plays the role of villain in your quest to achieve the ultimate conquer: getting out of debt or being able to at least have a budget that works. Truthfully, no one wants to admit that they can't manage money or aren't competent when it comes to simple things like spending, saving and accumulating wealth correctly. Most times, money and being intelligent with it is traced back to simple math: spend less than you make. So admitting you're not very good at “x minus y equals z” when you're looking at your income versus expenses is rather a tough pill to swallow. What needs to happen in this situation is the proverbial taking a step back approach and analyzing exactly how you handle and manage money and eventually determine if you're a lost cause or actually have some of the better points as it relates to building a small fortune, even if it comes in the form of a rudimentary savings account. The easiest place to start your search as it pertains to figuring out how good (or bad) you are when it comes to money management is right smack dab in the middle of your checking account, or in this case what is left of it. Those who aren't so savvy financially need only peruse their last statement to realize that they might not be quiet as adept as they originally believed. If those pages of paper bank statement or even the online view of what's happening with your account reveal lots of negative balances and the dreaded overdraft fees, then chances are you've got more work to put in that you originally perceived. Managing money starts with the checking account, the money that is yours and is on hand. If that sum of capital can't be kept neat and clean, then who knows what your credit cards and balances look like? Speaking of those cards, can you honestly convince yourself that you're a money whiz if you are constantly carrying balances on not just one but several credit cards? Worse yet, are you playing the balance transfer game on a seemingly semimonthly basis. That's the part where you open up a new card just to transfer a balance from a card you already have, and one incidentally that you've made little or no headway as far as paying it down. The problem with those who believe they are good with money is they see a balance transfer as a smart, prudent decision when in actuality it is a band aid on a gunshot wound. The sooner you realize that you're not as efficient with you think you are, the sooner the actual process of paying down your debt begins. Your ego could easily prevent that from happening.